1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a new method for preferentially killing cancer and activated T cells with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles. More specifically, this invention relates to autoimmune disease and cancer treatment in humans and animals by preferentially killing cancer and activated T cells with relatively little damage to normal cells.
2. Background Art
The integration of nanotecluology and biology provides the opportunity for the development of new materials in the nanometer size range that may be applied to many potential applications in biological science and clinical medicine. When reduced to the nanoscale realm, unique size-dependent properties of nanomaterials, including nanopaiticles (NP), are manifested. The principal factors believed to cause properties of nanomaterials to differ from their bulk counterparts include an increase in relative surface area and quantum effects, which can affect chemical reactivity and other physical and chemical properties. For example, a particle of 30 nm size has 5% of it atoms on its surface compared to 50% of the atoms on the surface of a 3 nm particle. The altered properties of NP, and their similarity in size compared to naturally occurring biological structures, can allow them to readily interact with biomolecules on both the cell surface and within the cell and potentially affect cellular responses in a dynamic and selective manner. Materials that exploit these characteristics are becoming increasingly attractive for use in novel biomedical applications.
Although our understanding of the functioning of the human body at the molecular and nanometer scale has improved tremendously, advances in therapeutic options for treating severe and debilitating diseases such as cancer and autoimmunity have lagged by comparison. In this regard, nanomedicine, which is the application of nanotechnology to medical problems, can offer new approaches. With regards to cancer treatment, most current anticancer regimes do not effectively differentiate between cancerous and normal cells. This indiscriminate action frequently leads to systemic toxicity and debilitating adverse effects in normal body tissues including bone marrow suppression, neurotoxicity, and cardiomyopathy. Nanotechnology and nanomedicine can offer a more targeted approach which promises significant improvements in the treatment of cancer. In this study we have employed 8 nm zinc oxide (ZnO) NP in which the synthesis and properties have been previously described (Reddy K M, Feris K, Bell J, Wingett D G, Hanley C, Punnoose A 2007 Selective toxicity of zinc oxide nanoparticles to prokaryotic and eukalyotic systems Applied Physics Letters 90 213902-213903). The aim of the study was to investigate whether ZnO NP induce toxicity in a cell-specific manner, determine the mechanism(s) of toxicity, and whether these NPs have potential utility in novel biomedical applications seeking to eliminate pathogenic cells while sparing healthy body tissues.